Right Side of Wrong
by demiducky25
Summary: One shot songfic- What if Gambit was never banished from New Orleans after his marriage to Belladonna... Here's one possibility...


_Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters; please don't sue me I am a poor college student. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike. I own the character Lothaire_ _and __I (sort of) own Rick, though I took him from the song, so I guess I really don't own him, I just gave him life in the X-men world. Also, I don't own the song "Right Side of Wrong" or Bon Jovi, but if I did, I'd have some friends who would be jealous :-P_

Right Side of Wrong

_A friend of a friend needs a favor  
No questions asked, there's not much more to say  
Me and the wife, we need the money  
We've got four kids all hungry, one on the way _

Rick needed a partner for a particular mission. There was a lot of money at stake, and although he practically drooled when he heard how much was involve, he knew he couldn't do it alone. He had heard about a man with particular talents that might be useful to him. A friend of his had a friend in the New Orleans Thieves' Guild who suggested that he look up Remy LeBeau. It's been said that Remy, or Gambit as he's called, can get any job done, given the right incentive. Rick felt that the zeros on this slip of paper were enough incentive for anyone willing to take an immediate retirement. That's all there was to it.

Even for a master thief such as Gambit, times were especially tough at the moment. The economy was in recession not to mention it was off-season in New Orleans which would make even simple pick-pocketing difficult under normal conditions. To make matters worse, the most destructive hurricane to ever touch down in New Orleans had caused havoc a month ago. Normally Gambit didn't stoop as low as a full on bank robbery, he preferred the more clandestine breaking and entering of wealthy homes and museums. However, he didn't have that choice at the moment. He had four children to think of: 3 daughters Renee age 4, Brier age 8, Sofia age 10, and a son Maslin age 5, To add to the financial burden, his wife Belladonna was expecting a fifth child in less than 3 months. The thought of seeing his children crying because they'd have to go to bed with empty stomachs again was too much for him to bear. He agreed to help this guy Rick with a job. He didn't really know Rick, but he was a friend of his friend of Lothaire, so he trusted him. Gambit had trusted Lothaire with his life on a number of occasions and if Lothaire said that this deal was legit, then he knew he had nothing to worry about.

_Slip these sweat socks in your shirt and pray they think your packin'  
Be sure to keep your head down, don't look 'em in the eye  
And don't get fancy, Ricky, we ain't Jimmy Cagney  
Look at me, let's do the job and let's get home tonight_

Belle didn't know exactly what kind of job Remy had lined up that night, but she knew it was going to be dangerous. Though not deeply religious, she had a necklace of St. Christopher that she would wear on her missions with the Assassins Guild. In her current condition though, she wasn't going on any missions for a while, not with four little ones at home, and certainly not while she was pregnant. She took the necklace off, slipped it onto her husband's neck and told him to be careful. After kissing his wife and children goodbye he made his way to Rick's apartment in Texas, not far from the bank, where they fleshed out the plan for the job. As long as they had the details worked out, it should all go smoothly. Obviously not a newcomer to hold-ups, Rick advised Gambit to stick rolled up gym socks in his pockets and taped to his body under his clothes. He stated that it would make it look like they had more weapons than they really did. Gambit was just going to go in with a few kinetically charged playing cards to show his power. He didn't like the idea of having weapons, they made him nervous. He knew himself and the power he held. He could control that at least, he couldn't control a bomb like Rick suggested. Rick was still going to keep his gun, just in case he needed it or if Gambit changed his mind about needing a weapon. Because of Gambit's red-on-black eyes, he'd be easy to identify, to minimize this, Rick told him to keep his head down at all times.

Before heading to the car Rick insisted that Gambit should bring some sort of actual weapon, if not a bomb, a gun perhaps. He could shoot it in the air when he was looking to get everyone's attention. He also wanted Gambit to run out to the car, and jump in it while it was moving, just like in the movies. It was usually Rick's style to do something fairly dramatic, he thought it made him seem more professional and dangerous. Gambit looked at Rick and told him that this was real life, not some gangster movie. He just wanted to get the job done and get back to his family.

_I got a half tank of gas and if we run all the lights  
We'll slip across the border on the wrong side of right  
And just like Butch and Sundance we'll ride until the dawn  
Sipping whiskey, singing cowboy songs  
On the Right Side of Wrong_

Rick had a good feeling about this; after all, he and Gambit were both professionals at what they do. Gambit was the right man for the inside job, he knew it! That's why his friend's friend Lothaire suggested him, and that's why he picked him out of all the other thieves in the Big Easy. And Rick was one of, if not the best getaway driver in the country. They got in Rick's car; an Oldsmobile, it was quick and inconspicuous, a perfect combination for any bank heist. Rick glanced at the gas gauge and noted that he'd need to refill before they got there. The bank was one of the largest in Texas, not far from the border of Mexico. Since it was so close to the border, its location made it a bank robber's dream, but the high security made it an almost unachievable dream, except for Remy Lebeau of course, his new partner in crime. Gambit could charm his way right in and out before it hit them that they had been robbed.

_We picked a helluva of a night, from the shore I see the skyline  
In a couple of hours from now Rick, we're gonna get out of this life  
We'll stop for smokes, I brought a six pack, we'll stop at lookers on the way back  
Hell, we'll laugh this off, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well tonight_

They parked on a ridge overlooking the city. No one could deny that the clear night was absolutely gorgeous. Gambit and Rick looked out to the city, joking about how that city wouldn't know what hit it in a few hours. Gambit reminded Rick that after this job was over they could retire, they would have enough money for two lifetimes! The first thing Gambit wanted to do was stop for cigarettes once they were securely in Mexico, he left them at his house in his rush to get going. Rick already had a six pack in the truck for their victory celebration too. He also wanted to hit up a few clubs and truly show Gambit how to celebrate. They both thought it was hilarious how the first purchases with their new found fortune would cost hardly anything in comparison to the money they would soon have.__

I got a half tank of gas and if we run all the lights  
We'll slip across the border on the wrong side of right  
And just like Butch and Sundance we'll ride until the dawn  
Sipping whiskey, singing cowboy songs  
On the Right Side of Wrong

Back in the car Rick noted that he never filled the gas tank like he wanted. But he's run this car on less than that for longer distances in the past. It would be fine, nothing to worry about. He joked to Gambit that they were like cowboys in a western trying to outrun the law, and Gambit quipped that if they were real cowboys they needed horses, funny hats, and a campfire to sing songs around.

_We'll make the grade, they'll know our names, I need a friend to drive here  
Wear my necklace of St. Christopher and talk to him while I go inside  
I'll take that suitcase, get the cash and we'll be gone before you know  
Wait until we tell the girls we're moving down to the Gulf of Mexico..._

This heist would go down in history! No one has ever attempted to pull a job this big in the little time that they were allowing themselves. Rick would stay in the car; preparing to speed away the minute Gambit was inside the vehicle with the money. Since Gambit's mutant powers included the ability to charm people, it was safer for him to go inside alone and work his magic. In fact, it was better that way, a job this sensitive left no room for error, someone had to keep the car running. Rick knew that everything was going to work out perfectly; there was no way that it couldn't. Gambit knew that Rick had a reputation as a profession getaway driver; he wasn't too worried on that end. He was worried a little about his part. He was use to stealing things behind people's backs, not from right out of their hands. He recalled the medallion that Belle had slipped around his neck before leaving. For the first time in what felt like forever, Gambit prayed that he would pull this job off, because something made him nervous. He had to do this; he had to provide for his family. He pictured little Renee's face, she cried so hard the other night when he had to tell them that there was going to be no dinner, again. And Maslin, he was growing up so fast; he looked up to Remy idolizing him in everyway. He didn't want his son following in these footsteps. Remy needed to make a better life for his family. He knew what he had to do. He'd charm his way past security, get them to open the safe for him, be in the car, and across the border before they knew what hit them. Then Gambit would call for Belle and the children, and Rick would call for his girlfriend and they'd all start over again in Mexico. No more stealing, no more Guilds, it would just be the LeBeau family, living a quiet life in their new house in a small border town.__

A friend of a friend needed a favor  
Life was just what happened while we were busy making plans  
We never saw nothing, there was a run-in  
.9 millimeter steel was coming for the windshield of that Oldsmobile  
As the cop said, "Show your hands!"

The job went just as easy as Rick expected it to. Gambit was in and out in a matter of minutes and no trouble followed them. What they didn't know is that while they were making these grand plans for the future, Lothaire decided to sell them out. He warned the bank that they would be robbed soon. Rather than catch them then and there, the bank, in conjunction with the police decided that the best thing to do would be to intercept them in the getaway. That way there was less of a chance that civilians would be hurt. Lothaire had told them that the men who would rob them were armed and dangerous. One was even a mutant. There was a reward out for Rick from previous jobs and catching Gambit in the act would make him a marked man as well. The reward for the tip was easy money for Lothaire; times in New Orleans wouldn't be financially tough for him anymore. Gambit had no problem in the bank itself, not just because of his powers, but because they were tipped off that the heist was going to take place. Police were lined up at the US-Mexican border waiting for Rick's Oldsmobile. Rick was so taken back by the line of cop cars that his natural reaction was to reach for his gun. Gambit reached over and tried to stop him from pulling out his weapon, and it all just happened so quickly! A cop had just yelled "SHOW YOUR HANDS," and Rick's motion caused another officer to fire. Everything felt like it was going in slow motion, Gambit could see the bullets flying through the glass, images of Belle and the children were flashing by him, not familiar images though, ones of future birthday parties, proms, weddings, and various memories that he wasn't in. He wondered if Rick was seeming similar images as he recalled the words his partner said to him before they reached the bank:__

I got a half tank of gas and if we run all the lights  
We'll slip across the border on the wrong side of right  
And just like Butch and Sundance we'll ride until the dawn  
Sipping whiskey, singing cowboy songs  
On the Right Side of Wrong


End file.
